Spirit Bound
by starshine.taylor
Summary: Set place two weeks before graduation. This is what I would love to see happen in Spirit Bound. Please read and review! :D
1. Too good to be true

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Richelle Mead does! **

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I was walking on the quad, the cold Montana air was biting into my skin; I was heading to my morning practice with Alberta. I didn't think I still needed to do these trainings but she insisted since _he _wasn't around to do them anymore the least she could do was help me. Thinking of Dimitri made me shudder, and not in a good way. I knew that Dimitri was after me, he wanted to _kill _me. The worst thing though was knowing that I had failed him. I had the perfect chance to kill him and I couldn't even get the stake through his heart. God knows I tried, but I screwed up. The most important staking of my life and I screwed it all up… but then again I was kind of glad that Dimitri wasn't dead. I had the chance to save my prince. I kept thinking about the last time I saw Oksana and Mark, the way they told me that someone might be able to give a strigoi their soul back. I thought of the way that Dimitri had acted when he touched my ring. It gave me hope.

"Rose!" someone shouted, then two hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.

"Ouch." I screamed. I was pulled back to the present to see Lissa standing right in front of me, a worried expression on her angelic face "What did you do that for?" I snapped.

"Because I kept calling your name and you wouldn't answer." She said. "I'm sorry." Through the bond I could feel her sympathy towards me. I could feel a little bit of impatience and anticipation too. I thought of the night that I told her Dimitri was still alive, coming after me, and that there might be a chance to save him. As soon as I told her she hopped up and started throwing clothes into a suitcase, she was disappointed when I told her we had to stay at the academy until graduation, which was oh so close. Only two weeks away.

"What's up, Lis?" I asked. I could also feel that she had something to say to me. "Go ahead, tell me."

"Well," She said, chewing on her bottom lip "there is someone here to see you. I was told to come get you and bring you to her."

"No." I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. The only people I talked to since coming back was Lissa, Adrian, Christian and my teachers. I spent most of my time with Lissa, watching her practice her magic and just hanging out in her room.

"I don't think you have that much of a choice Rose." She said "It's the Queen." She made a disgusted face, she was not Tatiana's biggest fan.

"Then tell her hell no." I said annoyed "I hate that Queen Bitch." I laughed at the expression on Lissa's face.

"_Rose!_" She hissed "Please go and don't make a big deal about it, it's important."

"Fine," I sighed "but if she says anything bitchy I'm going to put her in her place."

"Rose" Lissa hissed again "you can't go around saying stuff about the queen like that."

"I know, I know." I said. We were walking back in the opposite direction that I was heading. I hugged my coat tighter.

"Are you okay?" Lissa asked in a small voice.

"Of course" I said, trying to aim for cheery and failing miserably.

"I wish I could get inside your head" She mused, that was one of Oksana's tricks she was trying to master. I shuddered, I didn't like the idea of anyone being in my head but it was only fair since I could go into Lissa's.

"You will one day" We stopped outside of Kirova's office. In the end they gave her the headmistress job back and I was glad, Lazar was horrible. I knocked on the door, Kirova opened the door saying "Come in Ms. Hathaway and you too Ms. Dragomir." I gave Lissa I shocked look but followed Kirova into the office. Lissa and I sat down in the two chairs in front of the desk. Tatiana was sitting behind the desk with her guardians behind her. Kirova stood behind our chairs, looking out of place in her own office.

"Ms. Hathaway, it's nice to have you back." Tatiana began "May I ask where you were exactly?"

"I was, um, I" I began.

"I see" she said "I've heard the rumors; I'm guessing they are true then? You were out tracking down Guardian Belikov, trying to kill him." She had a smug look on her face. I wish I could smack the look right off of it.

"Yes" I whispered "Yes I was."

"Were the two of you lovers?" She asked.

"No." I lied "He was my mentor, he needed to find peace."

"I see." She said again, I could tell by the look on her face she didn't believe me. "I called the two of you in here to discuss who Ms. Hathaway will be guarding once she graduates." Through the bond I felt both Lissa's surprise and hope. I tensed up, hoping against hope that I still had a chance to guard Lissa.

"Will she be my guardian?" Lissa asked hopefully "Please." She added for good measure, I could tell that she was using a little bit of compulsion on her.

"Yes." Tatiana said in a strained voice "She will be. She is one of the best novices here and because of your bond she is the ideal candidate. There is no reason for her not to be, even if she did drop out of school to chase a man all the way across the world." She added glaring at me.

Lissa was so happy "Thank you so much your majesty, you won't regret this. Thank you, thank you, thank you" she squeaked. "Rose isn't this great?"

"Yes it is Lissa" I said grinning. Finally after so much bad, something good came out of it.

"The two of you may go now," Tatiana said "I have much work to do."

Lissa grabbed my hand and led me back outside. It was even colder outside now since the sun was almost completely gone. "Can you believe this," She exclaimed "It's almost too good to be true." I could feel how happy this made her; this also made our plans for leaving right after graduation easier.

I was about to tell her how happy I was when I suddenly felt nauseous. They were here, they couldn't be here again, I panicked. "Lissa," I whispered "there are strigoi here, I can feel them. I'm going to find someone to help, you need to go to the moroi dorm, find some guardians and tell them whats happening." I could feel how shocked Lissa was, then fear shot through the bond. "Go, now!" I pushed her forward and she started running.

Lissa stopped suddenly and looked back at me "Please be careful Rose" She shouted and started running again. I pulled my silver stake out of my jacket, the one I 'killed' Dimitri with; I still carried it everywhere I went. Then I started running toward the novice dorm, looking for someone who could help me.

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**Please review!  
-Tay**

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	2. Attack

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, if I did I wouldn't be writing fanfiction :D Richelle Mead owns all!**

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I started running to the gym, it was the one place that I was sure a lot of guardians would be. I could feel through the bond that Lissa was safe, which made me feel a little better. There wasn't a lot of Strigoi on the campus this time, but I had a horrible feeling. I was almost sure that they had come for me, if anyone died or got hurt it would be all my fault. I was almost at the gym when a dark, cold voice spoke out from the shadows. "Slow down little girl, nobody is going to get hurt." there was a pause and he added "well, not a lot of people anyway."

I twirled around trying to find the person that spoke "Who are you?" I shouted, I clutched my stake tighter in my hand.

A human stepped out from the shadows. He was really tall, as far as humans go, with short blonde hair. His eyes were a deep blue but there was no emotion in them. "Hello Rose, I'm Mike." his voice was flat and cold. "I'm not here to attack your school, I'm here to give you a message. Dimitri says the hunt begins now, your days are limited so use them wisely." At the mention of Dimitri's name I started walking slowly to him, his human reflexes didn't catch it but when he turned to walk away I sprung at his back and shoved the stake through his heart. I didn't even feel bad about doing that, he was working for Strigoi, he deserved to die before they could awaken him. I didn't waste anytime, as soon as I was sure he was dead I ran into the gym.

"Alberta!" I shouted looking around.

"Ms. Hathaway what are you doing?" the instructor of this training class asked.

I didn't even answer his question "Where's Alberta?" I asked "Strigoi, they broke the wards again. There was a human, Mike, that said the Strigoi weren't going to attack but I don't believe that." The instructors face turned to one of pure horror, all the guardians in the back of the gym started moving to the doors, pulling out silver stakes. Some stayed behind to gather the novices and try to calm them down. That's when I felt one of the worse pains I had ever felt in my life, it was coming through the bond. I quickly checked on Lissa, she was with Adrian. Physically she was fine but she kept chanting Christian over and over. Adrian was holding her hand and saying that everything was going to be okay. I turned around, running towards the doors. One guardian looked at me "Rose, you need to come over here with your classmates." He said sternly. I didn't answer him I just ran out the doors.

I was only a little surprised when I ran out of the gym and saw all the guardians heading toward the front gates. There had been no attacks, that I could see, yet. Then I heard the screams. I stopped running, guardians didn't scream, not even in the worse of circumstances. There must be something really, really wrong. I checked in with Lissa again, once I decided that she would be okay without me for a little longer I started running toward the front gate. I came to an abrupt stop when I saw what caused the screams. There was a black SUV, much the like ones that the school owned, sitting there idling. There was about three guardians laying dead on the ground, but more astonishing than that was the Queen. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, not breathing.

"What…what happened" I panted

Alberta turned to look at me "The Queen was trying to leave once she learned of the attacks, her guardians were going to drive her all the way back to the Royal Court, they didn't want her here with an attack. Once they got out of the gate a group of Strigoi attacked, taking down all of the guardians. They had the element of surprise, then they killed the Queen." She said sadly. I may not have like Tatiana, she was a real bitch, but I didn't want to see anymore deaths.

"I have to go tell Adrian," I told her "Are there Strigoi still on campus?"

"No, there was only a few on campus. A couple got away with victims, we killed the others." She said. I nodded then started off towards the Moroi dorms. This time I made it all the way up to Lissa's room, I had to knock on the door several times before Adrian finally came to the door. Lissa sat on her bed, curled up with a blanket, tears constantly flowing down her face. I quickly told Adrian what happened to Tatiana. He didn't say anything after I told him, he just went to sit on the bed, putting his hands over his face.

I went over to sit beside Lissa, stroking her beautiful golden hair. "Lissa what happened?" I asked her.

"It's Christian," she sobbed "they took him. I saw them." A Strigoi took Christian, one of the few that made it on campus took Christian. I couldn't believe it, he was a fire user, he should have burned them where they stood!

"Was he alive when they took him?" I asked gently. I could feel the dark thoughts and feelings in her and it scared me. I concentrated on the bond, sucking the darkness away from her, and for a brief second I felt it flow through me. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist. Then my ring, charmed by Spirit from Lissa, sucked it away from me.

Slowly she nodded "He was on his way into the dorm, one grabbed him from behind and slammed him against the wall. They took Eddie too." She started sobbing again.

I remembered what Mike said 'Dimitri says the hunt begins now, your days are limited so use them wisely.' Dimitri took Christian and Eddie, knowing that I would come looking for them. He killed the Queen because he knew that it was going to hurt Adrian. He was putting my friends through pain, and it was all my fault. He was trying to get me away from the Academy with the wards and guardians, he knew I would leave to get Christian back for Lissa.

"I love Christian so much, and we haven't even worked out the things that I did when Avery was here. What if he dies Rose? He's going to die hating me." She said in a small voice.

"We are going to get him and Eddie back alive Lissa, don't worry." I said "We can leave right now if you want to. Dimitri sent them, he didn't come. I bet they are all going back to Siberia. Pack your bags." I said. I still sat on the bed, watching Adrian, while Lissa got up and started throwing clothes into her suitcase.

"I'm going too," Adrian said quietly "I want to help you get them back, and save Belikov's ass for you Rose." He had an oddly vulnerable look on his face. "I'm going to my room to pack, meet me there once your ready." When he opened the door he ran right into Kirova.

"Excuse me," Kirova said stiffly stepping around Adrian and into the room, a team of guardians were standing out in the hall, "Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, Queen Tatiana named you heir of the Moroi royal throne."

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**Please review! :D  
-Tay**

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	3. Royal Court

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**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns everything (;  
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Man these guys worked fast. The Queen hadn't been dead for an hour and they were already telling Lissa she was named heir. I had to admit, I was pretty damn proud of my best friend. I always knew that she would be a great leader and now she had the chance to prove herself. Lissa had no such confidence in herself.

"Me?" Lissa exclaimed. Through the bond I could feel how shocked she was. She was feeling so many different emotions it was hard to keep up with all of them. She didn't think she had the strength to govern the Moroi. She thought that if she did this Christian would die, or worse, before we had the chance to save him. On and on her worries went.

"Are you okay Queen Vasilisa?" Kirova asked. Lissa was startled by the use of Queen before her name, Princess was one thing but Queen was totally different. When Lissa didn't answer Kirova turned to look at me "What's wrong with her?"

"Well lets see the school was just under attack, again, her boyfriend was captured by bloodthirsty Strigoi and she just became Queen. Take your pick at any of those." Kirova shot me a glare but didn't say anything, she knew I had a point.

"She's right," Adrian said from his position by the door "this must be a shock to her. Let her have time to process all of this." Then I heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Man, my father is going to be so pissed.' It was almost enough to make me laugh, it did make me smile.

"I can't be Queen," Lissa said "I'm leaving." She motioned to her half packed suitcase "I have to find Christian."

"You will do no such thing," Kirova said in a stiff voice.

"YES I WILL!" Lissa shouted. "I HAVE to find him!" Everyone in the room starred at Lissa not knowing what to do or say.

"But you have too. You have things that need to be straightened out before you can do anything that rash. You have a responsibility to your people now. " Kirova said in an almost pleading voice.

I walked toward Lissa and grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard. "Lissa, look at me" I said, once she was looking at me I added "It makes sense. Get all of this straightened out and then we can leave to look for Christian." then I lowered my voice so that only Lissa could hear me "Dimitri won't hurt him, he wants us to come and save him." She nodded.

"Okay," she whispered "take us to the Royal Court."

"Us?" Kirova repeated stunned "Who's us?"

"Yes, us." Lissa replied in an icy tone "Me, Adrian and Rose."

They ended up deciding that we could all go, but Kirova wasn't too happy that I wouldn't be at the academy for the next two weeks. Adrian and I went to our rooms to pack our bags, once I stuffed my bag full of all my clothes I ran to meet everyone on the runway. They had a whole team of guardians coming to protect Lissa, one of them being Alberta. When we boarded the plane I went to sit beside Lissa, but her and Adrian were practicing their magic so I took the seat behind them and closed my eyes. A few minutes later I felt someone sit down beside me, I opened my eyes a little bit to see who it was. Alberta. I closed my eyes again.

"Rose," She began "I thought he was dead." With that my eyes flew open. Alberta knew about us, but we never talked about it. She didn't ask so I didn't tell.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, startled.

"Dimitri. I thought that was the reason you dropped out of school, to kill him?" She asked

"I did." I replied. Then I closed my eyes again and launched into my epic five week tale. Alberta sat there listening to every word. Once I was finished I opened my eyes to look at her again. She was looking at me with eyes so full of sadness, but to my relief there was no judgement anywhere on her face. I felt a tear escape and start rolling down my cheek, I quickly wiped it away hoping she didn't see.

"Oh Rose" she reached out and put her hand on my cheek where I had just brushed away my tear.

"How did you find out?" I blurted. It was the question that had been bothering me since I found out Alberta knew about our relationship.

Alberta let out a long sigh. "Dimitri had been at the school for about a year before he brought you and Lissa back. He always kept to himself, never really having a relationship with anyone. Then he brought the two of you back. He started changing, slowly. There was something so alive about him. After Victor said what he did at his trial I started thinking about the way the two of you acted towards each other. After we got back and you saw the ghosts, I saw you and Dimitri standing outside holding hands. The two of you were looking at each other with so much love, I wondered why I never saw it before." She shook her head slowly "I am so sorry Rose, you only find love like that once in your life."

"I'm going to save him." I said. I could hear the determination in my voice.

Alberta gave me a shocked look "How are you going to do that?" I told her how Dimitri had acted when he touched my ring. Then I told her about what Oksana and Mark said when I asked them about it. "I hope you can, Rose. He would do it for you." Then she took my hand and held it in hers. I fell asleep that way. While I slept, I dreamed. I was sitting at my and Lissa's old house in Portland. I was wearing the same outfit I had on the night we got caught. I was sitting on my bed and when I looked over Lissa was sitting on hers. Through the bond I felt the magic burning within her. "I learned how to dream walk." She said simply. Adrian materialized on the bed next to her giving her a beaming smile "Good job cousin." he said approvingly.

"That's great." I said to Lissa. "Now you can both stalk my dreams." I added sarcastically. Lissa rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Adrian. "Shoo," she said. "I have to talk to Rose, alone." With a smirk Adrian left my dream.

I looked over at Lissa. "This was an interesting place to take us too." I commented

She shrugged her shoulders, "This is where it all ended, well started. Imagine what it would be like if we were still on our own."

"There wouldn't be no me and Dimitri." I said. Just the thought saddened me. "No you and Christian. We wouldn't have learned more about Spirit or talked to Adrian."

Lissa nodded, "I'm glad we were caught." She paused "I'm so worried Rose." she whispered

"It's going to be okay, I promise."

"You always say that." I felt her relax from my words

"It's always been true."

"I'm glad I have you, Rose." with that she left my dream. I woke up as soon as she left. I sat up and placed my hand on her shoulder. "I love you, Lis." I said

"Love you too, Rose" Adrian said giving me a heart breaking smile. Lissa laughed "Love you too, Rose."

I looked out the window, outside I could see the beautiful landscape of the court, the lights and the buildings. The sun was starting to rise now, setting the whole place on fire.

When we got off of the plane I was astonished by what I saw. Hundreds of guardians and Moroi were surrounding the runway, on there knees bowing. Lissa started walking and her guardians formed a protective circle around her, I started to join the circle but Lissa looked at me and shook her head. "No, please walk with me, I need you." I walked up to her side and looped her arm around mine. I gave her a small smile, and she took a deep breathe. As we walked passed the people they started to rise, at the end of the runway was a tall Moroi man, holding stacks of papers. When Lissa got to him he swept down into a bow. "What's the first matter of business, your Majesty?"

Lissa didn't hesitate "Take me to see Victor Dashkov."

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**Please review :D  
-Tay**

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	4. Victor

The outside of the prison looked cold and uninviting, but I had to say that the inside looked worse. The hallways they led us down were damp and dark. The lights overhead flickered as we made our way into the little room they were holding Victor in. He sat in a metal chair by the corner, his hands were handcuffed on each side of the chair. He looked bad, not as bad as he did before Lissa healed him but he was definitely getting worse again. I had to imagine being locked up in prison while he was dying wasn't helping his condition any. His jade green eyes widened in mock surprise when he saw Lissa enter the room.

"Well look who came to see me! It's always a pleasure to see you Queen Vasilisa, you too Rose." He looked over at me and his eyes widened even farther. He gave a little gasp and said "You're here without your loving mentor, Rose?" He put special emphasis on the loving part.

His little comment infuriated me but I kept my composure. "You know about the attacks on the school, Victor." was all I said. He nodded his head in understanding, as if he actually cared.

"I'm so sorry Rose. You know if I would have been able to carry out my plans this would have never happened. Dimitri would still be with you." he shook his head.

"Enough, Uncle." Lissa said "We came here for a reason, we know about your brother, Robert. How he claimed that he gave a Strigoi their soul back. Where is Robert now?"

Victor gave out a half laugh "You expect me to help you? You are the reason why I am sitting here rotting away in this jail. I wish you no harm, Vasilisa, but I will not tell you where my brother is." he paused and then added, "Of course your Majesty I might tell you if you did something for me."

"Oh, you will tell me and I won't do anything for you ." Lissa said looking Victor in the eyes. I felt her use every ounce of her super-compulsion on him. His eyes glazed over, he would tell her anything now. The guardians in the room gave out a little gasp as Lissa used her compulsion. "Uncle, let me ask you again. Where is Robert now?"

"Robert is in Russia."

"Where in Russia?"

"Novosibirsk. My family has a little house in town. He's been staying there for the past couple of years."

"Did he really save a Strigoi?"

Victor nodded "I saw him do it. We were home from school, on break. A Strigoi broke into our house. Only one. He threw me against the wall and I blacked out. When I woke up the Strigoi was a Moroi again."

"Do you know how he did it?" Victor shook his head "He didn't really explain it to me."

Lissa let him out of his compulsion induced haze. "Thank you, Uncle." she said and walked out of the room. Adrian and the other guardians followed her but I stayed behind.

Victor let out a scream. There was a dangerous look on his face.

"That's why you told Natalie to become a Strigoi, because you were going to get Robert to heal her." He was more of a statement then a question but he answered anyway.

His face was emotionless "It doesn't matter why I did it. Natalie is dead."

I let out a sigh and started walking towards the door.

"Rose, promise me something."

I turned around "Why should I promise you anything?"

"Just always be there to protect Vasilisa."

I nodded "I was going to do that anyway."

Once we were back at the Court some guardians led us to our rooms. Lissa's was in a different building, but Adrian and I got rooms right beside each other. We said our good nights then I went into my room, it was more like an apartment. There was a big queen sized bed in the middle of one room, with fluffy pillows and a thick blanket. There was a canopy that draped the bed everywhere. Off to one side was a kitchen and off to another side was a sitting room with a couch and TV.

I decided to take a shower, I desperately need one. I stood under the hot streaming water until it started running cold. I got out and threw on my comfiest pajama's and was snuggling in my new bed when I heard a knock on the door. With a sigh I got out of my bed and made my way to the door. It was Lissa.

"I couldn't sleep." she said. "I just keep thinking about Christian and Eddie. What if Dimitri gets tired of waiting on us. He could go ahead and kill them."

"It's going to be okay Lissa. We will get there before anyone can hurt them." I didn't really believe my words. I had the same fears too. I had been held at that house and the Strigoi tried to kill me, I knew how dangerous it was to be living with the enemy. I, of course, didn't tell her any of these things, she had enough to worry about.

Lissa laid down on my bed and started crying. I didn't say anything, just stroked her hair until she fell asleep. As soon as she did, I closed my eyes.

I dreamed again. This time I was in Adrian's garden. I looked down to see what I was wearing. A ivory dress that fell all the way to my feet, it was beautiful. "Little Dhampir, you look amazing as always." I looked up to see Adrian sitting beside a rose bush.

"Adrian, I would love to just sleep for once."

"How many times do I have to tell you Rose? You are asleep."

I groaned "Why am I here? I spent all day with you."

"We didn't have any private time." He said flashing me that breath taking smile. I studied him. He was gorgeous, but he wasn't my Dimitri.

"It was a pretty big day, Lissa needed me."

"I need you too Rose." His words were soft. Not the sarcastic way he normally said things. I looked in his face, there was that vulnerable look again not a smirk.

"I'm here for you too Adrian." I whispered. It felt odd saying that, he was just my friend but I still loved him.

He got up and started walking towards where I was standing. His face was inches from mine. I realized that he was about to kiss me, and turned my head to the side. His kiss missed my lips, landing on my cheek instead. He let out a soft sigh and whispered "I love you, Rose." in my ear.

I was shocked by the words and didn't say anything. He left my dream. Allowing me to sleep in the nightmares that came every night.

They were more like memories. The look on Dimitri's face when I staked him. The way he chased after me. Me letting him drink my blood. The pretty dresses and jewelry he got me. I also dreamed of the more happier times. The night in the cabin. Every kiss that was shared. The way he held me. The way he said my name. Him telling me that he loved me more than anyone else in the world.

The words 'That's what I was suppose to say' kept running through my mind.


	5. History

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**So, I haven't updated in awhile and I'm sorry :( I've just been really busy with work and school, but it won't happen again!  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, you guys are the greatest! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Richelle Mead does!

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**When I woke up later that day, the setting sun streaming through the windows, I pushed all the images of Dimitri out of my mind. That's how I made it through most of my days. As if not thinking about Dimitri would allow him to simply fade away. I looked at the spot on the bed beside me, now empty. A guardian had came very early to get Lissa, I could feel through the bond that she was going to be busy all day. I could also tell that she didn't want to be there, she would rather be on a plane to Russia. She was feeling so many emotions that I quickly got sucked into her head.

She was sitting in small room with about twenty other guardians. There was a temporary advisor beside her, showing her pictures of novice's all around the world. She was currently on the novices at our Academy. There was also pictures of the graduating Moroi class all around them.

She let out a long sigh "I never knew there were so many vampires in the world." She gestured to a stack of pictures on her left side, it was a lot larger than the other stack to her right. "We still have so many to do."

"I know Prin-Queen Dragomir" Alberta said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But you have to get these finished before graduation." Then Alberta leaned down whispering "Especially if you want to go save Christian from Guardian Belikov"

That gave Lissa a burst of burning energy. She took out my picture and profile and laid it to the side, not giving me a guard.

"Is she going to be your guardian your Majesty?" the advisor asked.

Lissa shook her head, a smile growing on her face. "She's going to be my advisor."

Her temporary advisor's eyes grew wide "But she's a…"

"Dhampir," Lissa finished. "Yes, she is. It's about time the system changed." I pulled my self out of Lissa's head with a smile on my face. I was going to be Lissa's advisor. Admittedly I didn't know how I felt about that, but I was honored that Lissa trusted me enough to be her advisor.

I decided was going to spend the day with Mia, it had been awhile since I saw her and Lissa was going to be busy all day. I quickly got dressed, putting on the first clothes that my fingers touched. I brushed my teeth, pulling my hair up into a high ponytail showing of my molnija marks. I gently touched the latest addition, another star. They gave me that one for my journey away from the academy, all of the Strigoi I killed trying to find Dimitri. I would rather they didn't give me another tattoo, this only gave me more attention and all I wanted to do was blend into the background, be Lissa's shadow.

I walked to the building that had all the shops, hopping I could find Mia there. Walking through the doors I spotted her at a table with Adrian, a latte in her hand. When she saw me she waved me over eagerly, Adrian turning in his seat to give me a crooked smile. Seeing him made me think of the dream last night, I hoped this wasn't going to be awkward. When I got over to them Mia jumped up out of her chair, giving me a big hug.

"Oh my gosh Rose," She whispered "I am so sorry for everything you are going through." I thought about how ironic this was. One of my best friends was the girl that had caused so much trouble for me and Lissa when we came back to the Academy. Then she looked like a doll, and I loved to make comments about how she looked like a little kid. Now she didn't, she hadn't since her mom died and we got back from Spokane. Her skin was a little darker then the last time I saw her and her hair was pulled up into a high bun.

"It's alright." I said, trying to sound stronger than I really was, this time I sounded convincing.

Mia pulled back, giving me a sad smile. "After Lissa told me what you were doing, I was afraid you were never coming back."

"Well I did! How have you been Mia, I have missed you so much. Tell me everything"

"I'm still practicing my magic with some of the guardians here. Oh, and there is this cute guy-"

"This is all very interesting," Adrian said in his lazy, sarcastic tone "but I have something to tell Rose." Mia shot him a glare but didn't say anything.

"Okay, what is it?"

"There is a room here, that only a few people have access too. The Queen, and who ever she allows." He gave me another lazy grin. I raised both of my eyebrows, I still hadn't mastered raising one eyebrow. He didn't say anything else.

"Adrian what's in the room?"

"Books" he said, shrugging his shoulders. Must be some pretty important books.

"What kind of books." I said through gritted teeth, I was getting tired of playing these games.

"History books. Records of all the Moroi and Dhampir families."

"I know where that room is," Mia said "but why would you two need to go in there."

"To find out information about Robert," I said "I'm in, let's go get Lissa to let us in."

"I already have," Adrian said, holding up a long, skeleton key "Led the way Mia."

She led us through halls lined with doors, stopping at one near the end. "This is it." She said gesturing to the door "Should I leave?" She asked.

"No, you can stay with us."

Adrian put the key into the lock and opened the door. Inside there was thousands of books lining hundreds of shelves. There was tall filing cabinets shoved up against the wall on one side of the room, the side without any shelves. Beside the filing cabinets there were desks holding computers. There were tables in the middle of the room, with big lamps for studying late.

Mia and I went to sit down in the tables while Adrian walked over to a shelf with the letter 'D' painted on the side of it. He picked out a big pile of books and dropped them down on the table, separating the books into three stacks handing me and Mia two.

Through the bond I felt Lissa grow impatient, I decided to check in on her. She was sitting in my room, the guardians gave her an hour break and she needed to talk with me. She was trying to figure out how to brush my mind, to see where I was.

I sighed "I have to go guys, I'll see you later." I stood up taking my pile of books with me, before I left I walked over to the bookshelf that held the books about my dads family, and grabbed a big one that looked promising. I added it to the top of my pile and walked out of the room, heading for my room. I was almost at the end of the hall when I heard Adrian call out. I turned around to find him running down the hall with a folder in his hand.

He handed the folder to me with a big, sloppy grin on his face.

"What's this?" I asked.

He leaned in close to me, his face inches from mine. "An essay on the reasons why you should date me." He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and walked away, leaving me standing all alone.

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**Please read and review  
-Tay**

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	6. Essay

"Hey Lissa." I said, dropping my books and the folder with the essay in it, on the table. "What's up?"

"I can't stay here much longer Rose." she said "I just wish that I knew he was okay."

"Lissa, it's going to be okay. Everything is going to work out. I don't know how, but it's going to be okay in the end. I promise."

"How can you say that Rose?" She snapped "It's because of you that he is there! It's all your fault! If it wasn't for you and Dimitri I would still have Christian!" I could feel through the bond that she didn't really mean her words. She was just stressed and under a lot of pressure, but it still hurt me.

I was stunned into silence. I already knew that it was my fault, I didn't need to hear it from my best friend. Dimitri wanted to kill me, so he was hurting every one that I cared about. It was my fault Tatiana was dead. It was my fault Eddie and Christian was missing, maybe they were dead, or worse. I didn't know what this evil version of Dimitri would do. I felt guilty every day that was passing with me sitting here, not out there fighting for Eddie and Christian. It made me stick to my stomach knowing that I could be out there giving Dimitri his soul back.

"How can you say that Lissa." I finally said "Your my best friend. Dimitri is my Christian...don't you get that?"

Lissa started sobbing "I'm sorry Rose." She managed to get out between sobs. "I'm just so tried, and I'm scared. I'm so, so scared. I didn't mean it."

"Hey, Lis. I know you didn't mean it." I said, going to sit beside her. Taking her hand I squeezed it hard. "Listen to me. It's going to be okay. We are going to figure this out, together. I promise."

"I don't know what I would do without you, Rose." she said, squeezing my hand. Through the bond I felt her emotions grow lighter. "Oh, Rose. I have some news. I'm going to appoint you as my Advisor."

"I know." I said with a grin. "I was in your head earlier. Can I still be your Guardian?"

"Of course." She said with a smile. "You trained your whole life for it."

"And I'm a badass." I said. "Who's going to be your other sanctioned Guardian though?"

I honestly didn't know who she was choosing to be her Guardian. Her answer surprised me, "Your mom." My mom and I were growing closer after my epic journey. She knew about me and Dimitri and our relationship was really growing. It made me really happy to know that I would get to guard with my mom but also a little depressed. That was Dimitri's job.

"Really?"

She nodded. Then she looked over at my pile of books "What's that?"

"Oh, um, books on Robert and one on my dad."

"What's in the folder?" She asked.

"Um. That's actually a essay on the reasons why I should date Adrian."

"Oh my!" She said laughing. "Have you read it yet?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to read it?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" She asked, disappointed.

"I'm not ready to move on." I said "Maybe if I had been able to kill Dimitri the first time, but he's still alive." I explained.

"Can I read it?" Lissa asked

I shrugged my shoulders "Sure, I guess."

Lissa bounced over to the folder, picking it up she opened the folder, pulling out a single piece of paper. From where I was sitting I could see that it wasn't even half a page long, and it was typed. Which was a really good thing, Adrian didn't have good handwriting at all.

"Oh my gosh!" Lissa squealed "That was so sweet!" Through the bond I felt that much. There was a knock at the door.

"Queen Dragomir?" A voice called from the other side. Alberta. "Your break is over."

With a sigh Lissa opened the door. With one last smile for me, she left my room.

I walked over to the pile of books, taking the first one I found about Robert, I walked back over to the bed. I started reading, but I couldn't concentrate. It was driving me crazy not knowing what the essay said. With a sigh, I walked back over to the pile of books. I picked up the folder, taking out the single piece of paper Lissa had just read.

_Rose,_

_You might be surrounded by clouds, but you will always be like sunshine to me._

I laughed silently to myself, remembering the time Adrian said that to me. I took a deep breath and continued reading.

_I am about to go on a crazy, suicide mission to rescue the man that you love, that alone should show you how much I really love you. I love the way you smile, the way your eyes light up. I love that you can get down and dirty (: I have loved you since the moment I meet you, and even though you might not love me right now I will always be in your life. Waiting for the moment that you will finally give me a fair chance._

_I love you little Dhampir,_

_Adrian_

I sighed, placing the paper back in the folder and sitting it back on the table. I went back to reading about Robert trying, unsuccessfully, not to think about Adrian and his essay. I had to do something about Adrian I realized. He was one of my best friends, but that was all he was ever going to be. I still loved Dimitri, our love was pure, the kind that you only found once in your life. Just because he wasn't here with me right now didn't make me stop loving him. Him being a Strigoi was the worse thing that happened to either of us, but he had always been there for me. When he thought that I was crazy and seeing ghost, he had promised to never leave me, to always be there for me. I told him that I would always be there for him, and that meant through the good and the bad. I was going to save him.


	7. Graduation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does. :)**

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For the next week I went everywhere with Lissa, being her Guardian, being her advisor, and just being her friend. She had so many decisions to make in a such a short amount of time. We were planning on leaving right after graduation, she insisted that we stayed that long but no longer. She was working on trying to pass a new law, one that would allow Morio to train beside Dhampirs, and one that would allow them to use their magic for 'evil instead of good'. It was causing everyone to argue, but that was the good thing about a monarchy. The queen got final say, whatever Lissa wanted, she was going to get.

My mom finally arrived after they got a replacement Guardian to take her guard. "Is this going to be awkward for you, Rose?" she asked, as she settled into her new room.

"No" I muttered, looking towards the ground. The truth was it was going to be awkward, she was taking Dimitri's spot. The position he cared so much about, and it was killing me. To me it was making one thing official: Dimitri was going to be gone forever. He was no longer a Guardian for Princess Vasilisa, he was a Strigoi roaming the world killing innocent people. I wouldn't let that happen though, I was going to heal him, and bring him back to me.

"Good, I'm glad." She said, oblivious to my worries. We didn't bring the subject up again.

I tried to stay away from Adrian, spending all of my free time Mia, but he still followed me to my dreams. "I love you little Dhampir," He would say every night before he left my dream "See you later." Then he would try to kiss me, and I would quickly turn my head so his kiss landed on my cheek. He would grimace and leave, then I would wake up in my bed feeling guilty.

Graduation couldn't come any sooner, and I found myself relieved as we made our way through the gates at the Academy. Nothing had changed, the sprawling gothic school looked exactly the same as it had when I left it. Which was good, the familiarity of my old home, the place where so many good things had happened to me.

As we drove through the grounds, I saw all the places that held any importance to me. The trees that covered me and Dimitri as we kissed. The place on the quad where I saw my first ghost, Mason. The little log cabin that I knew was hidden by the woods, my cabin. The place where Lissa healed the raven. All these memories came rushing back to me, making my lips turn up into a little smile.

Lissa on the other hand, had feelings that were the total opposite of mine. Being at the Academy did bring up all of the good memories with Christian, but it was also a place of death and destruction. The last place she saw Christian before he disappeared. It was the place where Avery tried to kill her. The place where Victor had kidnapped her.

Then her feelings got brighter. It was the place where she met Christian. The place where she met me and all of her other friends. The last place she saw her parents happy and alive. Her emotions were bouncing all over the place.

"Lissa," I said looking at her "breathe."

She gave out a shaky, nervous laugh.

"Yeah cousin, its just graduation." Adrian commented from the backseat "You should see you Aura, it's changing colors so quick." He chuckled.

"I can see my Aura, Adrian" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding.

Mia laughed from the backseat, beside Adrian, "Are you guys excited?" she asked

"Hell yeah!" I said, this was the day that I had been looking forward to for years and it was finally here!

"I can't wait until I graduate" she mused.

"It's not that great." Adrian said, looking between us. "I have way too much free time."

"That's because you don't do anything besides smoke and drink." I muttered.

"That's not true, I do other things." He said.

"Like what?"

"Love you." He said, a smirk on his face.

"Please." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Your Majesty." Kirova bowed, greeting us as we got out of the car. "If you will follow me, I will bring you to a place where you can get ready. The rest of you may follow me as well. Rose and Mia, you can return to Rose's old dorm room to get ready."

"What about my dorm?" Lissa asked

"Well, that has been reassigned to someone else." Kirova said. "Follow me."

Once I got into my dorm, I threw on my little black dress. The black little dress that Dimitri loved so much. It was just to go under my graduation gown, I didn't think it would matter what I wore.

"Wow." Mia breathed, looking at my dress with jealous eyes. "That's the dress you wore when you broke my nose."

I laughed, remembering that night for a different reason. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Well it looks great on you." She said

There was a soft knock on the door. "Rose, Mia." My mom called "It's time."

The rest of the day passed in a blur. The ceremony was going to take place during the daytime, they were still running on a human schedule since the last Strigoi attacks. Being able to see the sun delighted me, but the Morio were having a horrible time staying in the sun so long.

There were names called, over and over again. Mason Ashford, Eddie Castile, Christian Ozera; Those names weren't called, and each time they were skipped over I cringed. Three names, three people that weren't here because of me.

When my name was finally called, I walked on stage to get my diploma from Kirova. She gave me a quick hug, something totally uncharacteristic, then I went to sit down on the little stool in front of the tattoo artist. I remembered how much I thought my first two marks hurt, and laughed. They hardly phased me anymore. Once he finished my tattoo I walked down off the stage, joining the rest of the Guardians.

Once all the names were finally called they called Lissa back on stage to speak. She wasn't only the Queen, she was also valedictorian.

"Hi." She said, as she stood up behind the microphone. "I'm so honored not to only be your valedictorian, but to also be your Queen. I have great ideas that I think will make our world a better place to live in. I am so proud of every single one of you. We have all worked hard to get here, and we will continue to work hard for the rest of our life. Together, we will be able to rid our world of Strigoi. We will be able to make a stronger place for our kind to live. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives." As she spoke, she began to feel her golden magic inside of her. She truly believed what she was saying, and she was excited for it. "Thank you and good luck to you all!" She gave the crowd a big smile, then her eyes locked on something far away. I turned around to see what she was looking at, and my jaw dropped.

Walking across the grass was a short, balding man, that was obviously human. He was carrying a stake in one hand and a gun in the other. Tied around the stake was a note. I felt my heart start beating faster in my chest. "Yo. Anyone of you vamps Rose Hathaway?" He asked, he had a slight Russian accent, not as nice as Dimitri's though.

Suddenly everyone was either pointing at me, or looking in my direction.

"Thanks guys." I murmured.

The guy made his way over to me, handed me the stake and said "One more strike and you're out bitch." He turned his back, and walked away.

"Get the Queen out of here! Now!" My mom shouted from behind me. "Come on Rose, we need to leave." she said, gently nudging me to go.

I gripped the stake tight in my hand, then ran off to the car that was waiting for us.

Lissa got in and we started driving out of the school.

I took the note, and opened it. My heart pounded harder in my chest, I recognized the hand writing. Dimitri.

_Roza,_

_I am disappointed in you, Rose. I thought you and Lissa would come sooner. Christian and Eddie are starting to bore me. I might have to get rid of them…maybe if you came soon you could save them? Maybe not._

_-D_

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**Please review (:  
-Tay**


	8. Worries

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does :) **

**Thank you for all the reviews, you guys are awesome 3 **

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I was in love with Dimitri, I knew that without a shadow of doubt. It was the first and only time I had fell in love, and I would never love anyone the way that I loved him. I decided that love is a scary thing. Sometimes it gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling that words can't explain. Then there are times where your stomach drops to your toes, giving you a feeling of dread and worry. I was feeling the later.

I read Dimitri's note five more times, then I crumpled it into a ball, throwing it onto the floor of the car. His note reminded me that this crazy mission we were about to go on would not only affect my life, but it would affect Christian, Eddie, Lissa and even Adrian. He had the power to destroy us all, and I was almost certain that he wouldn't feel bad about doing it either. I had to remind myself that this was not my Dimitri. My Dimitri was buried under layers of dark magic, turning him into a monster that was everything he was against.

"Rose?" Lissa asked, I could feel that she was worried. She had been trying to get in touch with Christian through his dreams, but she hadn't been able to catch him asleep. She had been trying since she mastered this skill two weeks ago. This scared me, Strigoi didn't sleep . "What did the note say?" She asked, her voice small. She thought it said that we were too late, that he either killed Christian or turned him. He hadn't killed them yet, because if he did I would be able to see their ghost.

"Dimitri said that he was really proud of me for graduating, him being my mentor and all." I lied, but I only lied to protect her. She didn't need the worry of what Dimitri's note said to haunt her anymore then she was already haunted by the whole experience.

She was skeptical "Is that all it said?"

"He said he loved me." I lied again. This sounded believable, and I was sad that Dimitri's note **hadn't** said he loved me.

Adrian and my mom scoffed in the backseat, and I turned to shot them a glare.

Adrian returned my glare with a smirk, while my mother dropped her eyes to the ground.

Lissa nodded and the feelings through the bond instantly grew lighter. There was still fear and worry, but she also felt relief and hope.

"Your Majesty," the driver said as he pulled onto the main road "where are we going?"

"The Royal Court." Lissa said

"What?" Mia shrieked from the very back. "I thought we were going to Russia? We could use the Academy's jets! It would be faster"

"Rose, Adrian and I are going," Lissa explained, turning to look at Mia, "but you aren't."

"What?" Mia shrieked again, growing angry "I've been helping you guys with this and I want to help get Eddie back." She had been practicing using her magic defensively, and she had gotten really good at it. She couldn't wait until she was able to use her skills against a real Strigoi instead of me or one of the Guardians.

"You can't go because your going to rule in my place until I return." Lissa said, a smiling growing on her angelic face. Of course I knew that Mia was the person we were going to put in charge while we were away, I helped Lissa appoint her, but it came has a complete shock to Mia.

"Me?" Mia asked.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Adrian said from beside her, looking at Lissa like she lost her mind.

Mia elbowed Adrian in the ribs, which shut him up. "Why me?" she asked, voice small.

"Because you live at the Royal Court, you already know everyone and know the changes that I'm trying to make. I trust you to do the right thing, and you're one of the only people I would trust to run the court." Lissa explained. To her, Mia seemed like an obvious choice. The only problem was she was still young, but weren't we all young?

"And because you are too young to go to Russia with us, little girl." I said jokingly, giving Mia a big smile.

She gave out a shaky laugh, and turned to stare out the window. "I hope you're making the right choice Lis." She said.

"I know I am." Lissa responded. She had total faith that Mia was the best candidate to rule while she was away, and so did I.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence. Only talking when someone asked us a direct question. Our minds were occiuped by thoughts of the adventure we were about to take, it could make us or break us. I really hoped it was the first. I looked out the window at the beautiful scenery, and the sun high in the sky, and I thought about what Dimitri's note really said.

Where we too late for Christian and Eddie? If we were what would Dimitri do with them? Turn them or kill them? Then my thoughts took a darker turn. What if Robert didn't really heal a Strigoi? What if we got there and he was crazy after all? What if I had to kill Dimitri for real this time?

I tried to push all the dark thoughts out of my head, but the closer we got the Royal Court, the darker they turned. What if I had to kill Christian and Eddie because Dimitri did turn them? What if I died while I tried to save them? What would that do to Lissa? What if Lissa died while we were trying to save them? What would that do to me?

We finally arrived at Court, and Lissa told us all to meet by the runway in twenty minutes. She was going to help Mia, and do some last minute Queen stuff.

I practically ran to my room, got my suit case that I had packed weeks ago, and sprinted back to the runway. I was the first one there, so I walked over to use one of the phones in the office. My fingers punched in the numbers that I had so easily memorized during my stay in Russia, and I waited until she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Sydney answered in English. Probably shocked by the American number that was calling her.

"Sydney?" I said "This is Rose, I'm coming back to Russia and I need your help."

"Oh, Rose." She said, exasperated, "What in the world did you do now?"

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**Please, Please, Please review :) Thank you!  
-Tay**


	9. Russia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, I wished I did. :) I just own the story line.  
Thanks to all my readers/reviewers, I love you all! **

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The flight to Russia was long and boring. Of course, it was more comfortable then taking the human airplanes, since we had out own private jets. Lissa slept, having nightmares about what was going to come soon. Adrian bugged me, of course, so I fell asleep too. That didn't do any good, because he followed me into my dreams. I finally got him to let me up, and watched some TV on the airplane. The had horrible movies, and some decent TV shows on DVD. The only really good show they had available was NCIS, which I watched. I loved that show, that girl Ziva reminded me of myself in a creepy way.

When we finally landed in Russia, it was night time. Everyone was already up, including my mom, and they kept drilling me and Lissa for a plan.

"The plan is," I snapped after they asked me for the tenth time, "we are going to find somewhere to spend the night. Then, I'll tell you the new plan."

"So you mean to tell me you haven't thought of a plan yet, Rose? I mean after all this is your suicide mission." My mom mutter, glaring at me.

"We are going to find Robert. Then I will come up with a plan." I said, looking down in embarrassment, my mom could always get to me.

My mom sighed, still glaring at me, but didn't comment.

We made our way off of the plane, and onto the runway of the Siberian Academy. There I was greeted by Sydney and none other than my father.

"Nice to see you again, Rose." Sydney said, giving me an awkward half hug.

"Yeah you too! Dad." I said, giving him a nod.

"Rose." He said, smiling. Then his eyes wondered over to my mother, where the smile disappeared from his eyes but not his face. "Guardian Hathaway."

My mom returned his smile, and looked away.

"You have a dad?" Adrian said, looking my father over from head to toe. He had a little too much to drink on the plane, and his words were coming out slurred.

"Everyone has a father, Adrian." Lissa muttered. She was also looking my father over, and a smile lightened her face. "Hello, Abe?" She said questionably "I'm Lissa, Rose's best friend."

"And Queen." I added in. Sydney shot me a look of surprise, and she looked very uncomfortable, which was understandable. She was surrounded by 'evil creatures of the night', and the Queen of all the creatures.

"I've heard a lot about you, your majesty." Abe said, as he took Lissa's hand and kissed it. "You are a very powerful person."

Lissa blushed, then looked at Sydney. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. Lissa, Sydney. Sydney, Lissa. She's the one I told you about Liss." I explained.

"Oh." Lissa said, a gave her a tight lipped smile, one that almost looked forced. "Nice to meet you."

"Your majesty." Sydney said, bowing slightly.

I quickly introduced everyone else to Abe and Sydney. Once that was done, I cut to the chase. "We need a place to stay."

"You are staying here." Sydney said.

"At the Academy?" I asked.

"Yes. There isn't a lot of people here, everyone went home for the summer." My dad said.

"Okay. Sydney I need to talk to you in private." I said.

Everyone got the hint, and started following my dad up to the campus. Lissa looked at me, and started walking away too.

"Liss, you can stay." I said laughing. Through the bond I felt her feelings grow darker, she felt like she was being left out of something important.

"Oh." She said, smiling. Her feelings instantly grew lighter.

"I need you to take us somewhere." I told Sydney. Her discomfort was still plain on her face, but it changed to one of surprise and suspicion.

"Where?" She asked, looking at Lissa. Then she glanced back at me.

On the plane ride I had been thinking about all of the people I had left behind here. Even though I wasn't here for that long, I still had friends. I had a little family that loved me and accepted me. Sydney was not the only person that I had left and missed. There were others, a lot of others, and I wanted to see all of them while I was here. Of course this mission came first, and was the most important, but we couldn't get anything done tonight. It was too late, almost morning. We had a lot of time we could spare.

"I want to go to the Belikov's house." I answered.

"The bloodwhores-I mean Dimitri's moms?" Sydney said, she glanced between me and Lissa. "Is she coming?"

"Yes!" Lissa said before I could say anything.

"Okay," Sydney said, almost reluctantly, "but you better make it quick. I'll drive."

Sydney sneaked us out of the Academy, that way no one would know we were gone, that way no one would ask questions. That was the way I liked it. The stars were glittering brightly, and there were so many. I had never seen this many in my entire life, and it almost seemed magical. Sydney led us out to the car that I bought her, and I laughed.

"You're still driving this thing?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah!" Sydney said, laughing. "It's a beauty. By the way, thanks for letting me keep it."

I laughed. "I didn't exactly let you keep it, you left without telling me."

"That's not true, I left a note!" Sydney said, smiling widely at me.

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever." I said.

"Get in the car you two. We don't have a lot of time." She said. "They are going to kill me for taking the Queen out without protection."

"You got me." I said as I slide into the front seat, buckling up.

"That makes me feel so safe." She muttered, sarcastic as always.

"It should," I said, "I'm pretty badass."

"Yeah, you are Rose." Lissa said from the backseat, at least she felt safe.

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**Please, please, please review :) You know you want to! Thanks :)  
-Tay **


	10. Family, Friends and Surprises

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but here it is! I really hope you enjoy this chapter because I had fun writing it. :) Any mistakes are my own, so I'm sorry. I wrote this in ten minutes, I figured you guys would like an update, and I promise I am going to start updating regularly again! **

**If you guys read Richelle Meads blog, and if you don't you seriously need to go check it out, you now know that this week is Ivashkov Week. How exciting but Adrian isn't in this chapter, so I'm going to update a chapter later this week with some Adrian action! **

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_"Don't worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll always be like sunshine to me."  
_Ivashkov week quote :) 

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It took longer to drive from the Academy to the Belikov's house than I thought, but I was enjoying the ride. Sydney was playing some pretty cool music that I couldn't understand, but it had a nice beat, nothing at all like the music I used to tease Dimitri about. Lissa was trying to get inside one of Christian's dreams, which wasn't turning out well, wasn't turning out at all actually.

I watched as the sun started rising. It changed the dark, normality of night into the bright, unexpected day. The sky was filled with shades of oranges, reds, pinks and yellows. There were wisps of white clouds hanging in the air, and the whole scene looked like a picture. I smiled as the first rays hit my skin, feeling a warm sensation all over. Sydney started laughing and I shot her a glare.

"What?" I demanded after her laughing got louder.

"You should see your face. You're staring out the window with this goofy grin." She said, trying not to laugh.

I smiled a little. "I don't get to see the sun much. I live at night."

Sydney stopped laughing, and returned my smile. "I'm sorry, that must be hard."

I nodded. "But it's worth it. I like being a Dhampir."

We finally made it to the Belikov's house when I had a thought: this was a terrible idea.

Why did I think they wanted to see me? I left without telling them. I got in a fight with Viktoria the night I left. I couldn't kill Dimitri.

They probably hated me.

"Guys." I said as we walked to the front door. "I don't think this is such a good idea anymore."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Too bad. We're already here, surrounded by bloodwhores. I escaped with the Queen, and the Guardians are probably ready to kill me by now."

"Like I said before, I can take them. I'm badass and nothing is going to happen to Lissa. I'm her Guardian and Advisor. She's safe."

"You keep saying that you can save us but I don't feel too safe." Sydney responded.

"Because you think we are 'evil creatures of the night'." I mimicked her voice, pretty well, and laughed.

I took a deep breath and raised my hand to the door. Before my fist landed on the door it flung open, to reveal Yeva.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her eyebrows raised. "This is not right. You are not supposed to be here."

"I'm here to see you." I answered.

"Who are you talking to?" Viktoria asked, appearing behind her grandmother. "Rose?" She asked, squinting at me.

"Hi." I said. "I'm sorry about coming so late."

"Rose? You're really here?" She asked, stepping around her grandmother and coming outside. I could hear Yeva muttering 'This is not right.' again and again.

"Yup. You remember Sydney. This is my best friend, Lissa, she's queen." I said.

Viktoria threw her arms around me. "Oh my gosh you're really here. I am so sorry about everything I said and everything that happened. I thought you were dead. Everyone did. We heard Dimitri had you and turned you so you could be together forever."

I squeezed her back, happy to know she wasn't mad at me anymore. "I'm not dead." I said.

"Mom! Mom come quick!" Viktoria yelled.

Soon Olena appeared at the door, followed by Paul. When she saw me her hand went up to her mouth, and she smiled. "Rose?" She asked questionably.

"Mom, Rose is alright!" Viktoria squealed.

Olena walked over to where we were all gathered, about two feet away from the door, and touched my check. I felt silly as a single tear rolled down my cheek, I really needed to learn how to stop that.

"Rose, honey, I'm so glad you are alright." She whispered. "I'm glad you're here." Her Russian accented was one that I had missed so much, but still wasn't as beautiful as Dimitri's.

I nodded. "Me too."

"Your unpromised friends came back a couple of weeks ago. They told us Dimitri killed you on the street, then forced you to drink-" she started to tear up, and shook her head. She looked at Lissa, then back at me. "Is this Queen Lissa?" She whispered.

I nodded. "And you know Sydney."

She smiled at them, and bowed to Lissa. "You're majesty." She said. "Would you like to come inside?"

"Call me Lissa and we would love to come inside." Lissa said.

Yeva muttered something to Olena in Russian, which earned her glares from both Olena and Viktoria.

I looked at Sydney "What did she say?"

"She's glad to see you." Viktoria lied, answering before Sydney could, but I didn't question it.

We all went inside together, and stayed for hours. Yeva disappeared for awhile and Olena made us lunch.

During lunch we talked about a lot of things, little things. The weather, graduation, summer plans, Lissa becoming queen but one thing we didn't talk about was Dimitri. His name was like a silent, grey cloud that was hanging above our heads. Threatening to turn our sunny day into a overcast morning.

They had to know Dimitri was the reason why I was in Russia, but they didn't ask and I didn't tell. I didn't want to fill them with hope, only to find out Robert was a psycho and we couldn't save Dimitri.

We were about to leave when Yeva finally showed up, but she wasn't alone. She had Oksana and Mark with her.

"Is this why you brought us over here, Yeva?" Mark asked, looking between me and Lissa. "We thought something was wrong!"

"Rose!" Oksana said, walking over to give me a hug. I felt a warm tingly sensation in my head and knew Oksana had read my thoughts. I cringed, and she shot me an apologetic look.

_Is she a spirit user?_ Lissa asked through the bond. I nodded, smiling at her.

"Hey!" I said, hugging her and smiling at Mark. "You guys know Sydney. This is my bondmate, Lissa." I announced. "Lissa, this Oksana and Mark, the bondmates I told you about."

"This is great!" Lissa said. "You were the one that helped me with Avery!"

Oksana nodded. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"I have so many questions!" Lissa squealed, pulling Oksana over to the nearest couch.

"Rose." Mark asked, looking at me hard. I knew what was coming.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing in Russia, again?" He asked.

"I graduated."

"I remember but that doesn't answer the question."

"I promised I would finish school. I did. I'm here to save Dimitri, for real this time." I said, looking him in the eye.

We were still in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Viktoria and Olena was in the living room with Lissa and Oksana, so we were the only ones in the room.

"Kill him?" Mark asked, hopefully. "Release his soul?"

I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Rose." He sighed, exasperated.

"I have to try to save him!" I said a little bit louder, my voice still low so the Belikov's couldn't hear. "It is my only chance. I can't kill him and know that there could be another way. A way where everyone would be happy! I could have Dimitri forever!"

Mark shook his head, but didn't say anything for a while.

"What would you do if it was Oksana?" I asked, my voice small.

"That's different, Rose. Oksana is my bondmate." Mark said, then his eyebrows rose. "Why is your bondmate with you?"

"She wanted to come. I couldn't say no. I promised."

Mark shook his head. "Rose, I hope you know what you're doing. You couldn't keep yourself safe last time and now you have to protect Vasilisa."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"Rose?" a new voice asked by the door, Sonya. I was shocked to see that she had a flat stomach, and felt bad about not asking how the new baby was.

"Yes?"

"You have a phone call." She said, handing me a cordless phone.

"Hello?" I asked, half afraid of who was going to be on the other end.

For a split second I worried that it was Dimitri. I worried that he was calling me to tell me that I was too late to save Christian and Eddie, but since I was here he would kill me anyway. That I would have to say goodbye to my family and friends forever. I would have to say goodbye to his family forever.

In the split second that I worried over who was on the other end of the phone I realized something, I wasn't ready to die.

It was my mother. "Rose, I know where you are and you better come back to this Academy right now!"

I let out a sigh of relief. My mother might be a scary woman, scarier than most women, but she wasn't anything compared to my badass Strigoi boyfriend.

* * *

**Please review :)  
Signed reviews get a sneak peak at the next chapter, which may or may not have a surprise encounter with Dimitri in it ;)  
-Tay **


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